SATS' profit down 32.2% to $168.4m in FY2020

Its Q4 profit plunged 112.6% on the back of lower revenue for gateway services.

SATS saw its group net profit attributable to owners crash 32.2% YoY to $168.4m in FY2020, an SGX filing revealed. The underlying net profit also fell 25.3% YoY to $180.3m over the same period.

Operating profit for the group dipped 8.4% YoY to $226.2m, no thanks to the negative impact on the group’s profits after tax and non-controlling interest from the new accounting standard was $3.9m. Share of result from associates/joint ventures plunged 80% YoY to $11.8m, impacted by reduced business volumes experienced by nearly all associates and joint ventures, and credit loss and asset impairments made by the associates and joint ventures in view of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Meanwhile, SATS’ group revenue inched up 6.2% YoY to $1.94b. Food solutions’ revenue improved 8.3% to $1.07b, with $121.2m in revenue contribution arising from the consolidation of CFPL and NWA. Its gateway services’ revenue edged up 3.7% YoY to $868.8m, mainly due to the consolidation of Ground Team Red Holdings and Ground Team Red, and a strong performance in ground handling during the pre-COVID period.

Group expenditure jumped 8.5% YoY to $1.7b in FY2020, mainly attributable to the consolidation of newly-acquired subsidiaries. This was compensated by the divestment of FASSCO amounting to $19.3m. Further, staff costs were marginally higher by $5.5m, driven by the consolidation of newly-added subsidiaries, mitigated by government reliefs, lesser contract services, overtime and other variable staff costs attributable to lower aviation volumes in the last quarter.

New projects and assets also led to the increase in depreciation costs. Other costs increased $41.7m on the back of higher maintenance expenses for ground support equipment, IT expenses to support digitalisation and transformation projects, fuel costs, lower foreign exchange gains, and higher allowance for doubtful debts.

The full year total dividend is declared at $0.06, which is said to allow the company to preserve more jobs and capabilities to support our customers as aviation volumes resume, and to pursue opportunities outside of aviation.

On a quarterly basis, the group recorded a net loss of $6.3m in Q4 FY2020, plummeting 112.6% YoY. Group revenue over the same period slipped 8.1% YoY to $433.1m, no thanks to lower revenue for gateway services, despite higher revenue for food solutions. The group’s performance for the quarter continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic across the region.